Customer Reviews

Letters to a Buddhist Jew

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First, I must say that this is a lovely book about Judaism that would appeal to anyone unfamiliar with Judaism's spiritual (as opposed to religious, intellectual or cultural) side. To enjoy this book you don't have to be interested in its relationship to Buddhism specifically.

David Gottlieb is a Jew who grew up in a Reform Jewish community in the USA and was essentially uneducated about Judaism. In the course of his quest for a spiritual life, he was introduced to western Soto Zen Buddhism. This form of Zen is a uniquely western form, a form in flux that has not yet fully adjusted itself to life in the West. It focuses primarily on sitting meditation (zazen) and social action, while maintaining many of the Asian practices and forms inherited from Japanese Soto Zen Buddhism. Gottlieb's dedication to his Zen practice led to his taking formal lay-person's vows as a Zen Buddhist.

His Jewish wife objected to his deepening Buddhist practice. Gottlieb turned to Rabbi Doctor Akiva Tatz for guidance in reconciling his Jewish background and Zen practice. Rabbi Tatz (an Orthodox rabbi and physician in the UK) and Gottlieb carried out an extended dialog via email. This book is the record of that dialog.

This book is primarily about Judaism, not Buddhism. It is not a comparison of the two spiritual paths. Rabbi Tatz knows Judaism well. He has a good grounding in the traditional Jewish texts, commentaries and practices, both mystical and normative. He has an orthodox as well as Orthodox (with a capital "O") perspective. He's obviously used to dealing with more or less uneducated Jews who have strayed from Judaism, either to other religions or to an atheist, agnostic or secular life. And so he approaches Gottlieb in that way. The lion's share of this book is his presentation of Judaism with an eye to impress more or less uneducated Jews that Judaism already has everything they want from a spiritual path and more, so why forsake it in order to try and find it elsewhere?

He doesn't seem to know much about Buddhism in general, Zen Buddhism in particular, nor western Soto Zen Buddhism specifically. Jews are taught to judge others leniently, so it would've been nice if Rabbi Tatz had not (as it seems he has) prejudged western Soto Zen Buddhism to firstly, be a religion, and secondly, a religion inherently antithetical to Judaism. Approached in that way, he might have discovered that the core of western Zen Buddhism is perhaps consonant with Judaism and perhaps even has something to offer traditionally observant Jews, specifically teachings about hitbo'd'dut (meditation), kavvanah (attention & intention), hishtavut (equanimity) and khessed (compassion) for all people.

Rabbi Tatz takes the Judeo-centric perspective that anything that another religion has in the way of truth originated in Judaism and that (in the second Gerrer Rebbe's terms) it is Judaism's ultimate role to re-integrate those "sparks of holiness". For example, he notes that Abraham predated Shakyamuni Buddha by thirteen hundred years, posits that he was the original "enlightened" man, and that when Abraham gave his secondary heirs "presents" and sent them off to the East, those presents were the spiritual foundations of the eastern religions. I can understand Rabbi Tatz's desire to undercut other religions in the interest of kiruv (bringing Jews back to Judaism), but interpreting ambiguous midrashic statements in this way doesn't encourage the feeling that he is dedicated to an open and truthful dialog.

For another example, consider the chapter on idolatry. When Gottlieb's wife learns that there are statues in the Zendo and that part of the practice involves bowing, she jumps to the conclusion that western Soto Zen Buddhism practices idol worship. The mistake that she makes and that Rabbi Tatz perpetuates is that they don't realize that they are on the outside of an unfamiliar culture looking in; they don't take the time or make an adequate effort to ask those who are on the inside exactly what is going on.

Imagine if a non-Jew entered a synagogue and saw the Jews bowing to the east or to the cabinet where the Torahs were kept, kissing the richly adorned Torah scroll as it was carried past them, or bowing in the direction of the Temple's Holy of Holies in Jerusalem where incongruously for a religion that disdains physical representation, golden statues of two cherubs adorn the cover of Ark of the Covenant. Might not they initially think that Jews worship the sun (for the sun rises in the east) or that they worship the scroll of the Torah, or that they worship the two statues of the cherubs hidden behind the curtain in the Holy of Holies?

It would take a lengthy explanation from the Jews and patient listening from the non-Jew to resolve the fact that Jews abhor idolatry and that what was observed was worship of the ultimately unknowable Infinite One. Perhaps the same opportunity should be offered to our western Soto Zen Buddhist friends. My experience is that we Jews would learn that bowing in the western Soto Zen Buddhist context is in general not idolatry but rather what Jews, if they gave the benefit of doubt, might call worship of the ultimately unknowable Infinite One within the limits of a Buddhist experience that lacks the revelation at Sinai.

There's an exceedingly important omission in Rabbi Tatz's presentation. Oddly for a dialog that addresses why a Jew should study Judaism rather than Buddhism, it does not address Jewish meditation directly in any significant way. Zazen -- sitting meditation in the form of either shikantaza ("just sitting") or with koans - is the core of western Zen Buddhist practice and the key to the awakening experience that Buddhism promises is available to all. Zazen is the main attraction in Zen. To not address what Judaism has to offer in its place is a glaring omission.

What has Rabbi Tatz done? Instead of directly addressing meditation, he discusses prayer. Imagine if back in the old days, an aspirant came to Elkana the prophet for instruction about how to become a prophet and instead of teaching him, Elkana sent the prospective student to his wife Hannah (whose prayers as recorded in the book of Samuel are the model on which we base much of Jewish prayer). Certainly the student would learn much from Hannah, but it wouldn't be about the meditative methods that prepare one for prophecy. The Jews who find Zen's awakening experience to be attractive desire to be taught meditative methods, not prayer. So instead of focusing on prayer, perhaps Rabbi Tatz might have discussed Jewish meditation methods for directly experiencing the first stirrings of Ruakh Ha-Kodesh (the Holy Spirit), available to all people. (For more information about Jewish meditation, see Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan's a"h books "Jewish Meditation", "Meditation and the Bible", "Meditation and Kabbalah", "Innerspace" and then follow his bibliographies back to their original sources.)

If I had to summarize the book in one paragraph, for Rabbi Tatz the bottom line on compatibility between western Zen Buddhism and traditionally observant Judaism can be found on page 78 where he states that "if Buddhism consists only of `cultivating mindfulness, watching my breath, realizing the interconnectedness of all things and beings, and striving to recognize and uproot the causes of suffering', we should not find it necessary to argue." Since these are precisely the core practices of western Soto Zen Buddhism, we can conclude that his arguments are only with the Indian/Japanese/Chinese cultural baggage (e.g., the statues, bowing, offerings, robes, assignment of deity to Buddha, adoption of Hindu/Shinto/Taoist/Confucist religious practices) that have accreted to Zen Buddhism since Shakyamuni's day. If Gottlieb had instead presented him with a version of western Zen Buddhism shed of its cultural baggage and returned to its core practices (i.e., essentially shikantaza meditation only), Rabbi Tatz should have had no objections if (and only if) Gottlieb had at the same time taken the time to learn about and deepen his knowledge and practice of Judaism.

The book would have been considerably more interesting and enlightening for both Jews and Buddhists if Rabbi Tatz had an erudite partner in dialog instead of a relative novice. David Gottlieb, unfortunately, at the time this book was written, was not educated or skilled enough in his knowledge of western Soto Zen Buddhism to dialog deeply with Rabbi Tatz. For example, when he said that Buddha was "utterly human" I had to wonder how he'd missed reading the Lotus sutra, a core teaching in Buddhism in which Buddha is a supra-human deity. And over and over again during Rabbi Tatz's explanations I scribbled notes in the margin about how what he asserted as unique to Judaism applied essentially equally to western Soto Zen Buddhism. So the book is often an erudite Jew's perspective on non-Jewish religions in general rather than being based on the facts of western Soto Zen Buddhism.

Even so, the faults and omissions are very minor compared to the overwhelmingly positive aspects of this book. It is a book that is indispensable for Jews who are already involved with (or contemplating involvement with) other spiritual paths, and Jews with limited educational backgrounds who simply want to appreciate the depth of their religion's roots.

(And to the reviewer who wrote: "Perhaps Tatz needs to sit over tea sometime with Bernie Tetsugen Glassman-Roshi." I would reply that Bernie Tetsugen Glassman Roshi was brought up in a non-religious Jewish home and doesn't have the deep Jewish background that Rabbi Doctor Tatz has. Bernie Roshi would likely refer questions about Judaism to Rabbi Zalman Schachter Shalomi, whom he calls upon as his Rabbi.)

This is a new book.

I dont understand why Amazon doesnt have more copies. If you can get your hands on a copy it will be well worth your time and money. I think you can find it in any of the Judaica websites (like eichlers.com).

I read the other books that talk about the differences and similarities between Judaism and Budhism.

Akiva Tatz explains the modern misconceptions of Judaism in which most of what is believed to be a true Jewish concept and belief is actually very far off from the truth. Rabbi Tatz ranks from the top of the world in those understanding of all the Authentic Jewish texts ranging from the Bible and its ancient commentaries to the Oral Tradition.

Mr. Gottlieb asks all the right questions. Questions that should bother any person whether they are Jewish or not.

This was not intended at first to be made into a book. It was a email conversation between David Gottlieb a Buddhist Jew and Akiva Tatz a well known Orthodox Jewish scholar. At the end this material formed into a book.

The 15 crucial questions about Judaism that were asked in the first correspondence to Rabbi Tatz explore issues including:

* God (What is the whole idea about believing in a god that we cannot experience?)

* Accessibility (why is it so hard to be a jew? So much a person has to study and do? While anyone can practice Buddhism)

* Choseness vs. Univerality (While Buddhism talks about the oneness of all beings it seems that Jews set themselves apart by saying that they are the chosen people)

* Joy, Meditation, alleviating Suffering (what is their role if any in Judaism)

* Legalism (why all these seemingly arcane traditions?)

After many pages of exploring each idea in depth the conclusion in Akiva Tatz's words are "From the insight you have presented into Zen Buddhism, at least as practiced in the West, it seems that virtually everything you have demonstrated is there in Jusaism."

He brings ancient sources that state that Abraham was the father of both Judaism and Buddism. And repeats many times that Judaism begins where Buddism leaves off.

I cannot do justice in giving a review of this book. Please do yourself a favor, no matter who you are or what your purpose of reading this book is. Just read it!

This is a fascinating book. David Gottlieb is a Jew who has a strong interest in Buddhism, and he and Akiva Tatz engage in a great discussion about the overlaps and differences between Buddhism and Judaism. The book follows the course of their letters to each other.

This book will definitely get you thinking and, if you're a Jew interested in Eastern thought like David Gottlieb is, it will give you some very concrete things to think about. Even if you're not a "Buddhist Jew," you'll learn a ton from these two great writers.

LETTERS TO A BUDDHIST JEW purports itself to be a dialogue between Rabbi Dr. Akiva Tatz, a noted Judaic scholar, and David Gottlieb, an American Jew practicing Zen Buddhism (Gottlieb now runs a website named "True Ancestor" which is strictly Judaic in content).

Tatz's and Gottlieb's opinions, however informed, are, of course, their own, and other Jewish scholars might agree or disagree with them. This reviewer finds more commonalities between spiritual Judaism and Zen than Tatz allows for. Zen practice can be an enlightening adjunct to any religious system. In its accessibility it can take the place of more ritualistic religious observances. In large part, that is the appeal of Zen. Tatz can never admit to this, and Gottlieb seems to lack any such awareness. Tatz does not trouble himself to explore Zen in depth at all, while Gottlieb is little more than his audience of one.

Unfortunately for the reader, LETTERS TO A BUDDHIST JEW is barely a dialogue. It is a virtual monologue during which the erudite Dr. Tatz so completely overwhelms David Gottlieb that this reviewer began to wonder if their dialogue was even a real one to begin with and not just an authorial device. The David Gottlieb on these pages is so colorless that it seems like he may not even be real.

The religious chauvinism of the authors of LETTERS TO A BUDDHIST JEW is evident from the beginning. David Gottlieb's introduction spans half a page; Dr. Tatz's consumes several. There is a lengthy glossary of Jewish religious and mystical terminology; Zen gets not a word. Gottlieb is described as having undergone a "lay ordination" as a Zen Buddhist in 2002, but this "ordination" is never explained. And if in fact Gottlieb acheived a leadership role in his Zendo, his grasp of Zen philosophy and literature seems shockingly weak.

Perhaps this should not be surprising as his grasp of Judaism is just as weak. One of Gottlieb's earliest letters to Tatz spells out a dozen or so basic questions that even a particularly literate Bar Mitzvah boy could answer. Gottlieb seems to know nothing at all about Jewish history, Jewish religious practices, Jewish philosophy or Jewish mysticism, even though he describes himself as a "seeker" and claims to attend a Conservative synagogue regularly. If Gottlieb's ignorance is real, then it is a bitter indictment of the pallid state of mainstream American Judaism. But there is something so contrived about the intellectual befuddlement evident in Gottlieb's letters that this reviewer strongly believes that they were intentionally crafted so as to give Dr. Tatz a ready-made foundation for his numerous theses in this book.

Dr. Tatz's discourses in LETTERS TO A BUDDHIST JEW are articulate, reasoned, and brilliantly presented. The depth of his understanding and scholarship of Judaism is truly impressive. For those disaffected with "corporate" Judaism but wishing to return or to remain within the fold, LETTERS TO A BUDDHIST JEW opens surprising new vistas of spirituality and mysticism in the ancestral faith. For those "seeking," Dr. Tatz has written an accessible, detailed, and reassuring introductory guidebook to Torah and Kabbalah. As Rabbi Dr. Tatz observes, many young Jews seek out Eastern religions for their esoterica and exotica, never realizing that Judaism is in its essentials an Asian religion just as is Buddhism. It is difficult not to praise Rabbi Dr. Tatz's achievement here.

Over 95% of LETTERS TO A BUDDHIST JEW is comprised of Rabbi Dr. Tatz's responses to David Gottlieb's brief (sometimes one-line) letters. When speaking of anything Judaic in this thick volume, Rabbi Dr. Tatz enters the realm of genius. As a discussion of spiritual Jewish practice, this book is without peer for a general readership.

Having said that, it is difficult to praise Rabbi Dr. Tatz's insouciant intellectual particularism. Where Judaism and Buddhism agree, Dr. Tatz takes extraordinary pains to explore the depth of Jewish knowledge while damning Buddhism (and other faiths) with faint praise. Where they disagree, Dr. Tatz is almost venial in his criticisms of Zen Buddhism. He repeatedly falls into the unfortunate but very common habit of comparisons: Abraham, "our enlightened one," lived long before Buddha; by the time Buddha was born, Jews had already had their prophetic age; Jews have contributed immeasurably to Western civilization; and so on, as if such seniority in time indicates superiority in substance.

Rabbi Dr. Tatz's self-righteous certitude that anything Buddhism can offer Judaism can offer more and better is the bigotry of that worst exemplar of our species, the True Believer. Certainly, a faith that has given rise to the elegance and complex simplicity of Ichiban, Bonsai, Haiku, and Chanoyu (Japanese flower arranging, horticulture, poetry, and the tea ceremony) not to mention a spare, direct, and immediate view of human existence, is worth more than just a specious examination. Rabbi Dr. Tatz needed to treat the subject of Zen with all due consideration, not just limit his inquiry to superficial divergences of ritual practice. For those interested, THE JEW IN THE LOTUS by Rodger Kamenetz addresses the specific "Jewish Buddhist" experience in a more openminded way.

Gottlieb is of no use here. He hardly mentions any great Zen masters or their writings by name, he seems to have no intellectual ability to draw parallels between the two streams of thought (there are a great many), and since he knows nothing of Jewish mysticism he can find nothing complementary in Buddhist mysticism. He does ask at one point if Dr. Tatz had read any of the Zen books he'd provided, but suspiciously, the names of the books and their authors are never mentioned, as if to put off any specifically non-Jewish intellectual curiosity in the reader. Likewise, a rather embarrassing (probably invented) dialogue between the leader of Gottlieb's Zendo and Gottlieb's wife makes it into the book, apparently in whole. Gottlieb's wife goes on a rant about "idolatry" while Gottlieb quietly stands there, utterly emasculated. Although the scene calls for ethical outrage, Tatz says nothing about this truly offensive display of ignorance toward another faith. This reviewer had to wonder how, if Gottlieb was an "ordained" Zen practitioner, he had failed to explain any of the practice to his spouse or found his own answer to the question of Zen "idolatry." Gottlieb seems less like a Zen practitioner than a man interested in attending meditation classes at the YMHA. This is not an impressive moment in LETTERS TO A BUDDHIST JEW.

In the same vein, Rabbi Dr. Tatz spends a good bit of time knocking over idols, at least Buddhist ones, but rationalizes similar Jewish practices. Bowing toward a Buddhist altar smacks of blasphemy while bowing toward the Torah ark does not. Displaying photographs of Hasidic leaders is "inspirational" while the showing of Bodhisattva icons is "idol worship." And Tatz never addresses the exact congruence between the numerous Hasidic practice lineages that are descended from various Tzaddiks (wise men), and the Zen Sanghas (communities) descended in lineages from various Roshis (wise men).

Tatz's Judaism is based on the "Word," and he talks volubly. Zen relies on zazen and shikantaza, forms of silent meditation. Gottlieb barely speaks, but only because he seems to have nothing to say. There is certainly nothing wrong in presenting and making attractive the huge, largely unknown corpus of Jewish mystical thought, but it is a shame that Tatz and Gottlieb made such an obviously conscious decision to turn this book into a minor tractate of religious propaganda. The apparent insecurity behind their decision will in itself be offputting to the intellectually curious reader. Their dishonesty is all the more hideous because LETTERS TO A BUDDHIST JEW is otherwise a book of immense value and quality with much to recommend it. It stands on its own merits.

Tatz and Gottlieb certainly didn't need to stoop to a disappointing parochialism to present their ideas. Notwithstanding the "give-and-take" format of the book, Tatz and Gottlieb are actually speaking from the same position and they should have just said so from the outset. Their decision to present Gottlieb as a confirmed Zen practitioner wending his way back to Judaism is simpleminded and becomes more and more transparent as the book progresses. Clearly, one of the major purposes of LETTERS TO A BUDDHIST JEW is to present a presumptively indifferently disposed Jewish reader with an attractive alternative to any non-Jewish spiritual practice. Despite Gottlieb's presence, the "Buddhist Jew" of this book is a constructed human being who could have been of any other faith or none.

Titled to attract a certain body of readers, LETTERS TO A BUDDHIST JEW has essentially nothing to do with Buddhism. It would have been far better to have made this book a true attempt at dialogue or at least a frank examination of the two streams of practice. Perhaps Tatz needs to sit over tea sometime with Bernie Tetsugen Glassman-Roshi.

Akiva Tatz is brilliant in the way he explains Judaism. I think this book is deep and insightful and it made me think about Judaism in a way that I have never viewed before. I myself love learning eastern philosophy and wondered how it compares to Judaism. This book gave me alot of clariy on the topic. Plus I learned deep things about Judaism that I never knew. A+. But its for sure not an easy read each sentence makes you stop and think about the subject even more.

This book opens with the claim that it's not an argument between Judaism and Buddhism, but it totally is. And judging from the religious Jewish publisher on the spine, you can probably guess who wins.

It follows the email correspondences between a Jewish practitioner of Zen Buddhism in Chicago and a rabbi (David and Akiva, respectively). The correspondences are not well-edited (Good job as always, Feldheim!) and contain some material about other events and correspondences that don't matter, but it's mostly a long argument that Rabbi Akiva wins.

David starts because his wife is bothered that he is a practicing Buddhist. He opens with 15 questions, which are really refutations of Judaism as he sees it. He begins by explaining the superior Buddhist philosophy as it relates to Judaism. Akiva, in a traditional Talmud fashion, questions this by taking each sentence of David's paragraph and dissecting it over several pages, asking David to clarify on apparently self-contradictory points he has made, and bringing sources in to clarify how the rabbi feels and why he feels this way, beginning with the existence of G-d and how G-d might be important.

David is unable to answer the key questions. His replies fall back on explaining Buddhist precepts that don't address the questions themselves, as if Akiva is more unfamiliar with Buddhism than he actually is, and eventually falls to Koans, or Buddhist statements that have no answer, like "What is the sound of one hand clapping?" Good to meditate on, but not so good when the rabbi has spent 10 pages discussing the nature of man's understanding of G-d and how it relates to Buddha nature.

David brings up more points (mostly unrelated to previous ones) and Akiva asks more questions, and keeps circling back because he never got the answers to his original questions and only has more. David becomes more and more reliant on stories of Buddhist masters outsmarting other people, and his idealized version of Buddhism as it's practiced as a religion.

Eventually, Akiva goes on offensive and David drops the pretense of taking the Buddhist position and begins attacking Judaism with the same questions any non-religious Jew who had a bad experience growing up has - Where is G-d? How do I know He's real? Could Sinai really have happened? Why are so many Jews I know hypocrites? Why weren't my Hebrew school teachers more inspiring? Akiva answers all of the questions, and at great length, asking David to seek out good Jewish teachers just as he sought out the best Buddhist teachers to learn meditation 20 years before. Eventually, David outright accuses Akiva of trying to convert him back to Judaism, which Akiva doesn't deny (in one of his weaker letters). Then David says he blew 20 years of his life and goes to study Torah.

This book is not an argument between a great rabbi and a great Buddhist teacher. There are other books about such conversations, and these religious figures tend to look more for similarities than differences (an excellent example is "The Jew in the Lotus" by Roger Kamenetz). This is a book where a confused Jew comes to a rabbi looking to refute him with what he's learned by practicing Buddhism, and is refuted by the rabbi.

I wouldn't really recommend it for non-Jews. It's certainly understandable, but it has a specific agenda and audience, even if it's a true story. It will enhance your understanding of Judaism if you have little, but it will not enhance your understanding of Zen Buddhism, for which David is a poor example of a practitioner. He is not equipped to defend his newfound faith.

Postscript: David is now a rabbi.

Fascinating. Tatz is an excellent writer and amazing orator who is able to distill complex issues into easily digestible bits. I really found myself picking up so many nuggets of knowledge in this book.

It is difficult to call this book a "dialog" or a "debate", as some have. An overwhelming majority of the writing is by Rabbi Tatz, answering compelling theological questions posed by David Gottlieb.

As such, this book is not a comparison of two religions -- it is meant to be read by a Jew who has looked elsewhere, and is now perhaps seeking a more authentic Judaism -- one that serves to bring one closer to the divine, rather than serve one's ego.

In one respect, the book did a marvelous job in demonstrating how both Buddhism and Judaism are, at its core, both intended to help the practitioner transcend. While it is far more concealed in Judaism, covered by layers upon layers of seemingly meaningless rituals and aspiritual adherents, one can indeed use Torah to elevate one's soul and evolve spiritually.

For me, the book's greatest value was highlighting the major difference between the two paths. That is, Judaism elevates one through the process of devotion (or surrender). But its very foundation, that of Torah from Sinai, is an overwhelming hurdle for the discerning truth-seeker. Rabbi Tatz's answer to the questions on divine authorship did not seem the least bit compelling.

Buddhism, on the other hand, does not insist that one believe in things that stand contrary to scientific evidence. One begins the process of merging with the divine through practices, most notably meditation, whose value is recognized through personal experience, not faith.

The book is an outstanding read for a Jew who is seeking. For a logical person whose spiritual path lay in understanding, I believe that they will come out more knowledgeble. If a person's temperament is better suited for the devotional path, the book has the potential to be very transformative one.

This Rabbi gives clear, intelligent, and refressing answers to Jews who have rejected their own rich backgrounds in favor of Buddhism. The dialogue shows respect for both traditions while making a case that Jews will find at least as much spiritual meaning in Judaism as in an Eastern tradition.

May be because I have long been interested in Buddhism as a philosophy of life and in the Jewish world, this book has had a tremendous impact on me. I do share the view reflected in some of the reviews that perhaps Gottlieb was a poor match for Rabbi Akiva Tatz, nonetheless the debate between the two is valid and fascinating. I must say that Tatz's passionate and profound discourse on the core principles of Torah has reawakened in me something that had been dormant for a long time and that I value beyond words.